The business behind the show

The Morning Fix: Bad 'Luck' for Time Warner. Comcast earnings up.

May 2, 2012 | 7:14
am

After the coffee. Before finding out if all Coldplay concerts are that short.

The Skinny: I felt like an extra in "The Walking Dead" trying to get out of the Hollywood Bowl after the Coldplay concert. Good show, but at a $170 a ticket, they could have played a little longer. Wednesday's headlines include Time Warner's results, analysis of News Corp.'s problems in Britain and a fire at Tyler Perry's Atlanta production facility.

Daily Dose: If you are a New Yorker and are wondering why the Empire State Building is lighted up blue Wednesday night, it's not for the Mets. It is a tip of the hat to the Weather Channel, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Just don't tell me it's raining anymore.

London's calling. The Parliament report on the ethics scandal at News Corp.-owned British newspapers dealt a devastating blow to the media giant and its leader Rupert Murdoch. Not only did the report accuse News Corp. executives of misleading investigators and lawmakers, it said Murdoch was unfit to lead the company. While News Corp. acknowledged and apologized for the ethical lapses, the company also took issue with some of the political overtones of the report. Meanwhile, analysts tried to figure out if the report was the beginning of the end of News Corp. or just a blip at a small unit of the giant company. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, News Corp.'s Wall Street Journal and the Guardian.

Some bad luck. Time Warner released its first-quarter results early Wednesday morning. Advertising gains and high subscription fees for its cable networks resulted in better-than-anticipated numbers. However, write-downs for the canceled HBO series "Luck" and the closing of a network in India hurt the bottom line. A quick take on the numbers from Reuters.

Good start. Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable operator and parent of NBCUniversal, released its first-quarter results and said profits were up 30%. NBC's coverage of the Super Bowl meant big advertising gains for the network. Early analysis from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Burning questions. Investigators are trying to figure out what caused a major fire at film and TV mogul Tyler Perry's Atlanta production facility. The fire, which damaged one building on the vast complex, started late Tuesday night. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Direct to DirecTV. Mel Gibson's next movie, "Get the Gringo," will be released directly to satellite broadcaster DirecTV at a price of $9.99. After a pay-per-view run on DirecTV, the movie will head to the DVD shelf. Details from Bloomberg.

Long journey. "Jericho," a short-lived CBS drama about survivors of a nuclear attack that has been off the air since 2008, may be brought back to life by Netflix. Apparently reruns of the series do well on Netflix's streaming service. As TV Guide notes, a lot has to go right for Netflix in talks with CBS, the cast and producers in order to get new episodes of such an old series made. Hey, I still watch my DVDs of the great ABC series "The Job" starring Denis Leary. How about bringing that back next?

Inside the Los Angeles Times: The Academy Awards are staying in Hollywood. TV critic Mary McNamara looks at the growing popularity of the rhymes-with-witch word on television.

-- Joe Flint

Follow me on Twitter. I can be obnoxious and condescending but have a good side too. Twitter.com/JBFlint